Head to Head Survey: Cool (NYSE:CLCO) versus OceanPal (NASDAQ:OP)

Cool (NYSE:CLCO) and OceanPal (NASDAQ:OP) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Cool and OceanPal’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cool	17.45%	7.94%	2.66%
OceanPal	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Cool and OceanPal, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cool	1	3	0	0	1.75
OceanPal	1	0	0	0	1.00

Institutional & Insider Ownership

20.7% of Cool shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Cool and OceanPal”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cool	$323.67 million	1.60	$98.14 million	$0.60	16.12
OceanPal	$5.55 billion	0.00	-$17.86 million	($66.00)	-0.02

Cool has higher earnings, but lower revenue than OceanPal. OceanPal is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cool, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Cool pays an annual dividend of $0.15 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. OceanPal pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 165.3%. Cool pays out 25.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. OceanPal pays out -3.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. OceanPal is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk & Volatility

Cool has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OceanPal has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Cool beats OceanPal on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cool

Cool Company Ltd. engages in the acquisition, ownership, operation, and chartering of liquefied natural gas carriers (LNGCs). As of December 31, 2023, it owned a fleet of eleven LNGCs, including seven modern tri-fuel diesel electric vessels; two modern 2-stroke and two TFDE vessels; and managed 17 LNGCs and floating storage and regasification units for third parties. The company was founded in 1970 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

About OceanPal

OceanPal Inc. provides ocean-going transportation services worldwide. The company owns and operates dry bulk carriers that transport major bulks, such as iron ore, coal, and grains, as well as minor bulks, including bauxite, phosphate, and fertilizers. As of December 31, 2023, its fleet consisted of five dry bulk carriers, which include three Panamaxes and two Capesize vessels with a cargo carrying capacity of approximately 572,599 deadweight tons. The company was incorporated in 2021 and is based in Athens, Greece.